Besar Halimi

Besar Halimi

Halimi with VfB Stuttgart II in 2013
Personal information
Date of birth	(1994-12-12) 12 December 1994 (age 29)
Place of birth	Frankfurt, Germany
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Sandhausen
Youth career
1998–2000	VfL Germania 1894
2000–2007	Eintracht Frankfurt
2007–2009	Darmstadt 98
2009–2013	1. FC Nürnberg
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2013	1. FC Nürnberg II	19	(1)
2013–2014	VfB Stuttgart II	14	(1)
2014–2015	Stuttgarter Kickers	37	(2)
2015–2018	Mainz 05	0	(0)
2015–2016	→ FSV Frankfurt (loan)	26	(4)
2016–2018	→ Mainz 05 II	24	(4)
2017–2018	→ Brøndby (loan)	29	(7)
2018–2019	Brøndby	21	(2)
2019–2021	Sandhausen	26	(2)
2021–2022	Riga	6	(1)
2022–2023	Apollon Smyrnis	27	(3)
2023–2024	Hallescher	22	(4)
2024–	Sandhausen	0	(0)
International career‡
2011	Germany U18	2	(0)
2012	Germany U19	1	(0)
2015–2021	Kosovo	34	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 November 2021

Besar Halimi (born 12 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for 3. Liga club Sandhausen. Born in Germany, he plays for the Kosovo national team.

Club career

Early career

Halimi first played for a local club VfL Germania 1894 and joined the youth academy of Eintracht Frankfurt, when he was six years old. In 2007, he transferred to the youth academy of SV Darmstadt 98, where he played until 2009. Where he went to play in the youth team of 1. FC Nürnberg. In the 2011–12 season, he played two matches in the Regionalliga Süd for 1. FC Nürnberg II. In the following season he played 17 matches in the Regionalliga Bayern for the reserves of Nürnberg, where he scored one goal.

On 12 July 2013, Halimi was signed to the VfB Stuttgart II. On 21 September 2013, he made his professional debut in a 3. Liga match against Rot-Weiß Erfurt and he ended the season with 14 matches and one goal. In order to gain more playing time, Halimi signed with Stuttgarter Kickers for the 2014–15 season. ^[1] In one season he made two goals in 37 league matches for the Kickers and was chosen as the Player of the Month of 3. Liga for November 2014. ^[2]

Mainz 05

On 12 July 2015, Halimi signed a four-year contract with Bundesliga club Mainz 05, ^[3] and was immediately loaned out to 2. Bundesliga outfit FSV Frankfurt for the entirety of the 2015–16 season. ^[4] In the following season, he played for the Mainz 05 II in the 3. Liga.

Brøndby

For the 2017–18 season. Halimi joined Danish Superliga side Brøndby, on a season-long loan. ^[5] On 13 July 2017, he made his debut with Brøndby in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round against the Finnish side VPS after coming on as a substitute at 64th minute in place of Kamil Wilczek. ^[6]

I really missed my teammates and the club. Never before have I experienced having such a strong bond to a club or any teammates before, as I did in Brøndby last season.

— Halimi on returning to Brøndby IF, August 2018. ^[7]

On 30 August 2018, Halimi returned and signed a two-year contract with Danish Superliga club Brøndby. ^{[8] [9]} Three days later, he made his debut in a 2–2 home draw against Midtjylland after coming on as a substitute at 76th minute in place of Lasse Vigen. ^[10]

Sandhausen

On 2 September 2019, Halimi signed a two-year contract with 2. Bundesliga club Sandhausen. ^[11] On 21 September, he made his debut in a 1–1 home draw against VfL Bochum after being named in the starting line-up. ^[12] He scored his first goal for Sandhausen against Holstein Kiel on 22 December, exploiting a poor pass from opposing goalkeeper Dominik Reimann in an eventual 2–2 draw. ^[13]

On 23 December 2020, in the second round of the DFB-Pokal, Halimi made his cup debut for Sandhausen, coming off the bench at half-time for Julius Biada as they were knocked out 4–0 by VfL Wolfsburg. ^[14] His first goal of the 2020–21 season came on 20 February 2021, as he struck a volley from the edge of the area off a header from Nils Röseler in a 2–1 loss to SC Paderborn; Sandhausen's third loss in a row. ^[15]

During his two seasons with Sandhausen, Halimi made 27 total appearances in which he scored two goals, as he failed to become an established starter. ^[16]

Riga

On 12 July 2021, Halimi joined Latvian Higher League side Riga. ^[17] Five days later, he made his debut in a 2–3 away win against Spartaks Jūrmala after coming on as a substitute at 66th minute in place of Felipe Brisola. ^[18]

On 2 March 2022, Halimi had his contract terminated by mutual consent. ^[19]

Hallescher

On 26 June 2023, Halimi signed with Hallescher FC in the 3. Liga. ^[20]

International career

From 2011, until 2012, Halimi has been part of Germany at youth international level, respectively has been part of the U18 and U19 teams and he with these teams played 3 matches. On 7 October 2015, he received a call-up from Kosovo for the friendly match against Equatorial Guinea, ^[21] and made his debut after being named in the starting line-up. ^[22]

Personal life

Halimi was born in Frankfurt, Germany to Kosovo Albanian parents from the village Malishevë of Gjilan. ^[23]

Career statistics

Club

As of 15 November 2021 ^[24]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other [lower-alpha 1]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1. FC Nürnberg II	2011–12	Regionalliga Südwest	2	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
	2012–13	Regionalliga Bayern	17	1	0	0	—		—		17	1
	Total		19	1	0	0	—		—		19	1
VfB Stuttgart II	2013–14	3. Liga	14	1	0	0	—		—		14	1
Stuttgarter Kickers	2014–15	3. Liga	37	2	1	0	—		2	0	40	2
Mainz 05	2015–16	Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2016–17		0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
FSV Frankfurt (loan)	2015–16	2. Bundesliga	26	4	2	0	—		—		28	4
Mainz 05 II	2016–17	3. Liga	24	4	0	0	—		—		24	4
Brøndby (loan)	2017–18	Danish Superliga	29	7	5	1	4	0	—		38	8
Brøndby	2018–19	Danish Superliga	7	0	1	1	0	0	—		8	1
SV Sandhausen	2019–20	2. Bundesliga	14	1	0	0	—		—		14	1
	2020–21		12	1	1	0	—		—		13	1
	Total		26	2	1	0	—		—		27	2
Riga	2021	Latvian Higher League	6	1	2	0	5	0	0	0	13	1
Career total			187	22	12	2	9	0	2	0	210	24

1. Includes Württemberg Cup

International

As of 14 November 2021 ^{[25] [26]}

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Kosovo	2015	2	0
	2016	3	0
	2017	4	1
	2018	6	0
	2019	8	0
	2020	1	0
	2021	10	2
Total		34	3

As of 31 March 2021 ^[26]

Scores and results list Kosovo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Halimi goal.

List of international goals scored by Besar Halimi

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	13 November 2017 (2017-11-13)	Adem Jashari Olympic Stadium, Mitrovica, Kosovo	Latvia	4–3	4–3	Friendly	[27]
2	24 March 2021 (2021-03-24)	Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo	Lithuania	4–0	4–0	Friendly	[28]
3	31 March 2021 (2021-03-31)	Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville, Spain	Spain	1–2	1–3	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	[29]

References

1. "Kickers Verpflichten Halimi" (in German). Stuttgarter Kickers. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
2. ""SPIELER DES MONATS" HALIMI: "SIEGE FÜHLEN SICH EINDEUTIG BESSER AN"" (in German). German Football Association. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
3. "HALIMI WECHSELT NACH MAINZ" (in German). Stuttgarter Kickers. 12 July 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
4. "Für Halimi geht die Reise weiter" (in German). Stuttgarter Nachrichten. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
5. "Brøndby lejer Besar Halimi" (in Danish). bold.dk. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
6. "Brøndby vs. VPS 2–0". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
7. "Halimi: Har savnet klubben". Brøndby IF. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
8. "Besar Halimi tilbage i Brøndby IF" [Besar Halimi returns to Brøndby IF] (in Danish). Brøndby IF. 30 August 2018. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
9. "Unë u riktheva", Besar Halimi me një video unike zyrtarizohet si futbollist i ri i Brondbyt" ["I was back", Besar Halimi with a unique video officially became Brondby's new footballer] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 30 August 2018.
10. "Brøndby vs. Midtjylland 2–2". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
11. "Besar Halimi wechselt an der Hartwald" [Besar Halimi changes at the Hartwald] (in German). SV Sandhausen. 2 September 2019. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
12. "Sandhausen vs. Bochum 1–1". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
13. "Sandhausen nutzt Serra-Abwesenheit eiskalt aus". kicker (in German). 22 December 2019.
14. "Gerhardt bringt Wolfsburgs Achtelfinaleinzug auf den Weg". kicker (in German). 23 December 2020.
15. "Srbeny antwortet Halimi - dann trifft Antwi-Adjei herrlich". kicker (in German). 20 February 2021.
16. "Besar Halimi | Laufbahn | Spielerprofil". kicker (in German). Retrieved 15 March 2022.
17. ""Riga" paraksta līgumu ar Kosovas izlases pussargu Halimi" [Riga signs contract with Kosovo national team midfielder Halimi] (in Latvian). Riga FC. 12 July 2021. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
18. "Spartaks Jūrmala vs. Riga 2–3". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
19. ""RIGA" PĒC ABPUSĒJAS VIENOŠANĀS PĀRTRAUC LĪGUMU AR HALIMI" ["RIGA" TERMINATES THE CONTRACT WITH HALIMI BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT]. rigafc.lv (in Latvian). 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
20. "HFC VERPFLICHTET BESAR HALIMI UND MORITZ SCHULZE" (in German). Hallescher FC. 26 June 2023.
21. "Kosova publikon listën e lojtarëve kundër Guinesë" [Kosovo publishes the list of players against Guinea] (in Albanian). Gazeta Express. 7 October 2015. Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
22. "Kosova shkëlqeu kundër Guinesë Ekuatoriale" [Kosovo excelled against Equatorial Guinea] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 10 October 2015.
23. "A e dini prej nga është super-lojtari i Kosovës, Besar Halimi?" [Do you know where the Kosovo super-player, Besar Halimi, comes from?]. GazetaOlle (in Albanian). 15 November 2017.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
24. Besar Halimi at Soccerway
25. "Besar Halimi". eu-football.info. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
26. "Halimi, Besar". National Football Teams. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
27. "Kosovo (4–3) Latvia". eu-football.info. 13 November 2017.
28. "Kosovo (4–0) Lithuania". eu-football.info. 24 March 2021.
29. "Kosovo (1–3) Spain". eu-football.info. 31 March 2021.

External links

• Besar Halimi at fussballdaten.de (in German)
• Besar Halimi at Soccerway
• Besar Halimi at WorldFootball.net